Comedian Jeremy McLellan comes to Creative 360

Sarah Wontorcik For the Daily News

Published 6:30 am, Friday, May 27, 2016

Comedian Jeremy McLellan, from Charleston, South Carolina, had his first open mic night three years ago.

“It went badly,” McLellan said. “But I was like ‘I can do better.’ So then I just started writing. I was looking for something to do and people had been telling me before that I should be doing stand up.”

For three years he performed locally in the Charleston, South Carolina area, until a few months ago when he decided to quit his day job and be a full-time stand up comedian.

“My dream was always to do stand up comedy full time,” McLellan said. “I was getting a lot of offers to do stand up out of town where I would have had to take off time from work.”

It’s because of this decision to go full-time and travel outside South Carolina that McLellan will be performing at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 27 at Creative 360. After two shows in Michigan, McLellan will move on to perform in Toronto, Washington, D.C. and Houston.

Office manager of Creative 360 Joannah Lodico connected with McLellan through her sister and brother-in-law. The two had been friends with McLellan in college. When Lodico and the other staff at Creative 360 heard that McLellan would be in Michigan for a show in Bellaire, their first thought was to try and bring him in. This will be the first time Creative 360 hosts a stand up comedian. Executive Director Carol Rumba hopes this won’t be the last.

“We sort of take the pulse of our attendees to find out what they like to see and what they like to experience,” Rumba said. “We certainly hope it’s something we can continue to do.”

Rumba said she’s very optimistic about McLellan’s performance. She and the other staff believe he will be very popular, she said they’ve had a good response so far.

“He’s very well known in the Detroit area and other areas in the state,” Rumba said. “We’re hoping that, because it’s a holiday weekend, people will come from all over Michigan to see him live.”

Attendees should expect a PG-13 performance. McLellan gets his inspiration from many different places; including politics, personal experiences, traveling experiences, conversations, and more. Anything that’s going on can be inspiration, McLellan said.

“I really like his Facebook posts,” Rumba said. “We laugh in the office all the time. It’ll be wonderful to actually meet him in person and see him on our stage.”

Snacks will be provided at the event, but attendees should bring their own beverages. Tickets are $5 per person using cash or a check and $8 per person using debit or credit card.

McLellan said he’s enjoyed being able to travel as a stand up comedian full time.

“It’s changed (my life) completely,” McLellan said. “My days are free now, I can take any gig I want, there’s nobody telling me what to do, which is great. I’m my own boss. I can write and say whatever I want, it’s great.”

McLellan said he likes being able to do everything himself. He has the freedom to choose what he says, where he says it and when, without any interference.

“It’s all me,” McLellan said. “There’s nobody telling me what to say or what not to say and I can just be myself. That’s what I love about doing comedy. And also just entertaining people and having people have a good time because of me.”